Strangelove
by starryeyed68
Summary: Jude and Tommy finally give in to the temptations that have always surrounded them. But not in a way either of them expected...
1. Chapter 1

Strangelove

Author's Note: Ok, this story comes with a warning. Those of you who have read my other pieces are probably thinking this is another sweet "fluffy" Tommy/Jude story. Well, this isn't that. This is something darker, and very R rated, written by the more perverse side of me. A side that needed to test my range and push my limits. A side that needed to confront demons by writing about them. I actually wrote this a while ago, but was afraid to publish it. Well, I refuse to be scared anymore.

Special thanks to B- you and I played with this concept a while ago. Feel free to weigh in on it... especially since I don't know if it's going beyond a one-shot... Right now, it's just my personal exorcism.

Oh, as usual, I don't own IS or Depeche Mode's song, "Strangelove"...

Since this is a new style for me, please let me know what you think... I'm very interested! Thanks!

Dorothy

Strangelove

_They'll be times,_

_When my crimes,_

_Will seem almost unforgivable._

_I give in,_

_To sin,_

_Because you have to make this life, livable._

_And when you think I've had enough,_

_From your sea of love,_

_I'll take more than another river full._

_Yes, but I'll make it all worthwhile,_

_I'll make your heart smile._

_Strangelove,_

_Strange highs and strange lows,_

_Strangelove,_

_That's how my love goes._

_Strangelove,_

_Will you give it to me?_

_Will you take the pain, _

_I will give to you._

_Again and again._

_And will you return it..._

_They'll be days,_

_When I stray,_

_I may appear to be, _

_Constantly out of reach._

_I give in,_

_To sin,_

_Because I like to practice what I preach._

_I'm not trying to say,_

_I'll have it all my way._

_I'm always willing to learn_

_If you got something to teach._

_Oh, but I'll make it all worthwhile._

_I'll make your heart smile..._

_Pain, will you return it?_

_I'll say it again, pain._

_Pain, will you return it?_

_I won't say it again._

_Strangelove..._

Jude Harrison sat brooding in her room. It was the evening of her 17th birthday; one she didn't feel at all like celebrating.

"Like this year didn't completely fucking suck! Dad divorced mom, knocked up that slut, Yvette and married her. Mom now dates more than I do. She's never home anymore and drunk off her ass when she is. Jamie dumps me for Kat after I catch them making out on my couch. So called best friends- they can both go straight to hell! And Tommy's still screwing Sadie."

She tossed her long, carefully designed blond hair back in anguish.

"Now, I'm supposed to go to this damm party and play perky, sweet little wholesome Jude. Well, fuck that. Fuck them all!"

Jude knew there was no way in hell she could pull that off. No way she would get through tonight. Not without help, anyway.

She opened the small enamel case and carefully selected a little, white tablet.

"Bottoms up!" she sneered, as it coursed down her throat.

Tommy Quincy sped up to the Harrison house. The Viper peeled madly as he recklessly drove to fetch his girlfriend. Veering abruptly into the driveway, he stopped the car and exited. He knew Sadie waited eagerly for him.

However, Jude answered the door, with a scowl on her face, as opposed to her sister's easy, sexy, kittenish charm. She greeted him with frozen silence; things had completely changed between them. Once they had been friends, talking and laughing easily about everything and nothing. Now, somehow, even the pretense of warmth had vanished from their relationship.

"She's not ready yet!" Jude finally snarled and turned away.

"It's your birthday. I came here. You could at least be civil..." Tommy exploded.

"Fuck you! Why should I? You didn't come here for me. You came for her. It's always about her! You think I don't know what you guys are doing?"

"Like that's anything to do with this!"

"Screw you, Quincy! It has everything to do with me and you know it. You started something..."

"Jude, I've no idea what you're talking about..."

"That's just pathetic! And you think I'm "too young" and too stupid. Seems to me, you're the one who doesn't get it."

She turned away, deferring him to Sadie, who soon appeared on the landing. Tommy greeted her with all the unresolved rage Jude provoked in him.

"What was that for?" Sadie commented naively, tasting the fierceness of his lips.

"Nothing. Let's just go!"

He grabbed her arm and led her into the blackness.

Jude struggled through her party. The pills enabled her to put on the necessary show, smiling on cue and saying all the "right", carefully scripted words. Darius was pleased. However, she burned in her heart, hating everyone and everything. Paradoxically, despite the huge crowd of people, no one was there for her. She was merely their puppet, existing at their will and for their convenience. Used by them only as she was useful to them. No wonder she didn't know who the hell she was anymore.

She depleted the contents of her enamel box as the evening went on, chasing each pill down with a couple of shots of vodka. Jude refused to feel any pain tonight.

"My damm party!" she thought.

Tommy also sought that same oblivion. His nerves hit the breaking point as he found himself distancing further and further from Sadie. Her light chatter seemed mindless and meaningless as his thoughts and eyes kept drifting towards another platinum haired girl, dressed in a short, tight black skirt, and V-neck top. The neckline was low, but revealed no cleavage, just plenty of flawless skin. That outfit symbolized Jude to him. Never blatant or obvious, yet she somehow revealed just enough nakedness to make him ache ceaselessly for more, emotionally and physically.

"Fuck it!" he thought, belting down his drink, and signaling for another.

"Tommy, what is your damage?" Sadie angrily demanded.

"Wha... What?" he slurred.

"You've been acting strangely all night. And now you're drunk. I'm not going home with you like this."

"Like I care." he said, perfectly calm.

"I don't need this. There are at least twenty guys here who would kill to love me."

"So, then why don't you just give one of them the chance?"

"Fine." she agreed and stomped off.

Tommy's head spun dizzily.

"Whatever!" he thought, stumbling back to his office. The party was breaking up, but he needed some quiet. Inside his black leather and chrome space, he tried to relax. Until something in the corner stirred.

"Jude!" he said, shocked.

She lay, stretched out provocatively on the couch.

"What the hell are you doing here?'

"Dunno. Quiet." she whispered.

"Jude, you're messed up. What the hell did you take?"

"Stuff..." she drifted off. "But I know what I'm doing."

"You can't possibly..."

"Fuck you, Quincy! Stop pulling that crap on me! Like I can't know anything! I'm too young, too stupid, too innocent. Well, I stopped being all that long ago. You just didn't notice!"

"I noticed." he replied softly. That was always their damm problem. That was why he continued lusting after her.

"Tell me you don't want it..." she challenged, walking over to him.

"Jude..." he moaned, already helpless.

"Don't say we "can't"" she added, mercilessly, brutally pushing her mouth on his, finally hurling Tommy past his limits.

He pushed her down to the hard, bare floor.

"You want to feel it! What I can do to you! What you do to me! Ok! But just remember, you asked for it!"

His lips returned to hers, bruising and feasting. Tommy then devoured her face in that way, and moved downward to consume her neck. Jude's hands wandered over his body, stroking everywhere.

"You like it. You want more..." he growled.

"Yeah!" she threw back with equal force.

His hands found his way inside her shirt. Seams tore as he yanked it off her body. He heard buttons popping as he dimly realized Jude had done the same to him. Her hands now clawed at his shoulders, and moved down his back, nails digging into his flesh.

Tommy's hands were on her chest now, sucking each bare breast, then letting his fingers work the nipples, going from gentle strokes to firm pinches. He heard her small cries of pain blending with moans of total ecstacy. But he was beyond caring. He had held back for too long. Far too long.

His hands sought and quickly found the waistband of her skirt. Fumbling, he undid it, hurling it too to the side of the floor. Her black silk bikini panties were the only remaining barrier, and he soon stripped her of those. Finally, Jude lay on the floor, completely exposed to him.

"No more secrets, girl. No more games" he demanded.

"Yes" she echoed.

His mouth pressed ravenously between her legs, lips and tongue traveling everywhere, deep inside her. She grew hotter and hotter, consumed with her desire for him. It drove him insane.

"Please..." she moaned, desperate.

"Beg for it" he arrogantly replied, as his mouth continued to work her most sensitive areas.

"I..., Oh, yes!" she cried out, engulfed in searing waves of pleasure.

"That'll do!" he said, lifting himself up, and stripping off his remaining clothes.

Taking her in his arms again, he selfishly and selflessly reclaimed her body. Pushing Jude hard onto her back on the floor, he drove within her. She was tight, he felt her tender flesh give way and finally tear as he penetrated deeper and deeper, taking what he wanted and giving her everything she needed. Her legs wrapped around him, aiding his unrelenting lust and his hands seized her hips, wanting her to feel his every stroke, and his complete domination.

Jude gyrated beneath him, embracing the pain, the deliciously wonderful aches within her. Powering them was a deeper, more intense need. The need to feel, to release the want... to finally know what he felt for her urged her forward. She yearned to satisfy herself and to satisfy him in that deeply intense way that she knew instinctively uniquely belonged to them together.

Climaxing together, they screamed in unison, finally totally gratified. Bodies drained and replete, they collapsed together on the cold floor.


	2. Chapter 2

Strangelove

Author's Note: Ok! You, the fanfiction readers have spoken and I have conceded your demands! There will be a second chapter for Strangelove! Because, to paraphrase a certain episode title of the show we all find so "strangely lovable"- sometimes, we can (and should!) get what we want...

Anyway, the second chapter became mandatory after I finally figured out what this uncharacteristic story was really about. It's not sex- although admittedly we're all enjoying that... To me, it's about being used. It's about no one seeing you for who you really are, let alone wanting anything to do with it! It's about needing something in your life that's real and honest and something that's yours- your choice. And yes, sometimes it's about saying the hell with everyone else and who they expect you to be... and just going for what's right for you, even if no one gets it!

So, I'd like to specially dedicate this story to anyone who's ever felt this way... Even though it may seem like it, you are not alone... And it's also dedicated to my online "fanfic coven"- B, W, and A... Thanks for not being "scared to tell the truth"!

Ok... now on with it... You all know the "read and review" drill by now...

Thank you all for listening to me rant!

dorothy

Chapter 2

Almost a month after her fateful 17th birthday, Jude walked up to her front porch, escorted eagerly by her partner for that night who limply held her left hand. Faceless, he leaned in for a kiss, which she broke off quickly.

"Curfew" she lied easily.

"I understand. I'll call you." he promised, before disappearing anonymously into the night.

Jude entered her vacant home. It was just after 1:00 AM. She sat by the window. He knew she had a date that night. He always called then. Jude waited for his expected signal.

When the phone rang, she immediately reversed course, heading out again under the black cover of darkness. Driving quickly, she rapidly reached the comparatively small, but luxurious house at the end of the secluded road, where her lover resided.

As always, the second her feet reached the portal, Tommy threw open the door, dragging her inside. No other greetings, no preliminary conversation ever occurred between them. Words were superficial and superfluous.

Tonight, Tommy's hands merely grabbed her body, shoving her hard against the wall. He kissed her with brutal force. Both ablaze from the instance their eyes met, his hands moved under her shirt, stroking and then squeezing her breasts. Clothes scattered in the hallway, as they moved automatically to his bedroom.

Jude flashed a knowing smile at him, teasingly communicating her intension with her eyes. She jumped on him, carelessly and deliberately knocking his naked form onto the bed. Her hands and lips traced the now familiar contours of his body, feeling his tension mount. When he neared the breaking point, she straddled him, impaling him willingly between her creamy thighs. Again, their hips shifted and locked, easily finding their joint and completely perfect rhythm. Bodies moved in ravenous synchronicity as they sought their release; it was heralded by the guttural screams emerging in concert from both their throats.

Temporarily satiated, Jude's nude figure collapsed besides Tommy's. Since her birthday party, these assignations occurred three or four times each week. No one else suspected; no one else was close enough to either of them to see it. On the outside, nothing changed. They worked together with no more or less success than they had ever had. They shared no plans and made no promises. Both realized the vapid emptiness of those, just as both were fully cognizant of the risks of their affair. Neither of them cared. All that mattered was that in these delicious, so illicit moments, everything else disappeared.

Jude now tolerated her duplicity better, no longer struggling to reconcile her true self with her carefully construed public image. Enjoying her hypocrisy, she eagerly embraced the role Darius scripted for her, down to the pre-planned dates he insisted on with wholesome male celebrities. She always played it cool, never offering them more than a single chaste kiss, and made sure that Tommy knew about these evenings. He always summoned her afterwards, taking her even more fiercely, re-establishing his dominance. Jude thrived on this, lived for it, knowing at least at that time, to this one person, she was worth the danger and the effort.

Tommy too cherished their liaisons. He too was tired of his image, of icing his emotions. With Jude, all the inhibitions, all the cherished controls ingrained in being "Cool Tommy Q" were stripped away. For the first time, he welcomed this. It was the only time in his life he felt genuinely alive and fully honest- completely himself.

Neither knew how long this affair could or would continue. All they understood was that neither of them would be the person who stopped it. However, Tommy and Jude knew that in their world, in the famous lives they chose, nothing could ever be permanent, nor were secrets ever kept. Love, commitment, and forever would remain mere foreign terms, always alien, despite everything they shared and felt.

For now, flesh met again and again in the night, feasting endlessly, desperately trying to fill the bottomless void. They knew that this could be their last time, and all their nights together would have to sustain them for eternity.

Just as the outside darkness threatened to slip away and dawn's rays illuminate truth, Jude reluctantly returned to her emotionally barren existence, leaving Tommy to his.

Both could only await hopefully the possibility of a next time.


	3. Chapter 3

Strangelove

Chapter 3

Author's Note: Once again, you all have spoken and I succumb to peer pressure! Voila- another chapter for "Strangelove"! Sorry for the delay... it took some time to decide which direction this story should go in ... I almost feel like I should post more than one version... but please just let me know if you think this works...

Chapter 3

Somehow, ten months went by. Miraculously, Jude and Tommy managed to continue their illicit relationship; Jude laughed bitterly at the irony of it all. For once, everyone's indifference to her true self and her needs was actually getting her exactly what she always wanted. Tommy's feelings were no less genuine; she was what made him feel alive and whole. Each night they spent together further solidified their strong, if clandestine, connection.

"So dangerous..." Tommy thought, but not because of the obvious risk of discovery.

Dangerous because they had managed to sustain it for so long. They now were starting, inevitably, to consider the future and perhaps fantasize about things that shouldn't be.

"I shouldn't even be thinking about this... But she'll be 18 in just two more months... Legal and able to do anything she wants... Openly..." Tommy mused.

He paced restlessly, waiting for Jude to arrive that frigid winter evening. The sight of her bright red car blazing through the midnight darkness electrified him.

She confidently strode up his front steps, knowing how much her arrival meant to him. As always, his strong arms reached out to snatch her inside the second she reached the front door.

But this time, there would be consequences. Someone else had seen them...

Her feet crunched the gravel along the roadside, as she walked back towards her car in her pointy-toed high-heeled designer boots. Sadie Harrison shook her golden head as a toxic rage consumed her, poisoning her whole being. She had realized some time ago that Jude was sneaking out and not returning until morning several nights every week. She had not cared. Why should she? It didn't matter to her what Jude did.

Until she made a critical discovery...

Sadie noted that Jude's abrupt late night departures were always precipitated by the same ringing of her cell phone. Three times this week, Sadie listened in the tomb-like quiet of their home; even her non-musical ears easily deciphered the notes of 'Time To Be Your 21" when they sounded.

"He wouldn't... she couldn't... No!" she tried to convince herself. She failed.

Jealousy dictated her actions and tonight she tailed her sister to the very familiar location of Tommy's secluded house. Sadie became even more enraged when her suspicions of their affair were confirmed.

"He's fucking her! That slut! He wouldn't take me back, even when I begged... now it's clear why! He's got her! Really has her, from the looks of it! Bastard! But he's not getting away with this and neither will she! I'm gonna fix that..."

Retreating carefully from that house, she began to plot her revenge.

Back at Tommy's place, he and Jude firmly grasped each other's bodies, writhing in the aftermath of pleasure. Their months together taught them both well; each knew now exactly what satisfied the other. Both of them played each sensitive chord on the other's body expertly and with perfect precision. The result was unsurpassed, unspeakable ecstacy that only intensified over time.

Tonight, they were again lost in that unparalleled bliss, oblivious to anything but the way they brought each other's bodies and souls to repeated climax. Tommy pressed his lips to Jude's, claiming all of her with one fierce, possessive kiss.

"Dammit, girl!" he swore, moaning.

"Why? Was it that bad?" she baited him, with the sexy confidence he had instilled in her.

"Hell, no..."

"Then what? Out with it, Quincy."

"We gotta talk, Jude..."

"The three most dreaded words in the universe. Nothing good ever comes after them..."

"No way, baby. That's not what I meant... Not this time. I'd be an idiot if I gave this up."

"True" Jude agreed, smugly.

"So, then? What?" she challenged.

"You'll be 18 soon..."

"Can't wait. Finally, I can get the hell out of that house..."

"You should..."

"Finally, tell all of them to go to hell! Just screw off! Mom, Dad, Sadie... everyone."

"And you could do the same thing to Darius..." Tommy prompted.

"My contract is up with him and G-Major..." Jude's voice drifted off thoughtfully.

"You're so hot now..." he replied, stroking her long slender form.

"I know you think so..."

"I do. But that's not what I mean, girl... Darius and the record company... They need you more than you need them... You can start calling the shots now... Get the upper hand."

"Or leave his ass behind?"

"Yeah." Tommy smirked happily.

"I like the sound of that... me actually doing what I want for a change... like the way you think Quincy..."

"Good. Cause there's one other thing you gotta do. No choices..."

"Oh, really..."

"Yeah... The night of your 18th birthday, I'm gonna be right there next to you. I've had it with this. You're moving in here. " he demanded.

"Really? And what makes you think I want that?" she said petulantly.

"This" he said, brutally claiming her mouth.

"You belong to me, girl..." he grunted savagely

His hands trailed lightly, but with ownership over her full breasts; his touch was like fire, searing her insides.

"More..." he baited her, already knowing her response.

"Yeah..." she replied weakly, as one hand slipped down her stomach, parting her legs. His fingers stroked the insides of her thighs, moving slowly and pressing deeper and deeper inside her. His touch became firmer and faster, until finally she climaxed, screaming his name.

"You need me... Just like I need you..." he whispered.

"Yeah..." she whispered, her voice limp.

"I love you." he finally confessed.

"I know" she smirked, crawling on top of him and straddling his body, her lips and tongue nibbling and sucking on his chest, then slipping lower.

"I love you" she admitted, sitting up and taking him deeply inside her, and echoing with her whole being the movements his fingers had just made. They rocked together, as one body on that bed, until their simultaneous, potent explosion.

Exhausted, but totally satisfied, she collapsed against him. Finally, they had a plan.

However, so did Sadie...


	4. Chapter 4

Strangelove

Chapter 4

Less than 24 hours later, Sadie Harrison preened before the full-length mirror, readying herself for a late-night rendezvous of her own.

Disregarding the subzero Canadian wintertime temperatures, she arrayed herself for this appointment in her shortest black skirt and most revealing hot-pink top. Black stockings and her pointy-toed, spike heel boots completed the ensemble.

Tossing her long, stick-straight flaxen hair over one shoulder, she smiled brazenly.

"He'll never be able to turn this down!"

She strode arrogantly to her car, making her quick, but so purposeful drive. Pulling up outside her destination, she was stopped just outside the gates.

"Your name?" the uniformed security guard asked.

"Sadie Harrison..." she purred.

"I'm here for Darius Mills..."

The guard eyed her up and down appreciatively.

"_Yeah... I bet you are..._" he thought.

"One moment, please" he verbalized in his most respectful tone.

After speaking briefly on the telephone, he waved her in. She drove through the iron gates, up to the endlessly sprawling white mansion.

"_Nice place... I could definitely get used to this... And I will..."_

Parking her car, she approached the wide portal, and rang the doorbell. To her surprise, Darius himself answered the door.

"Sadie Harrison. Do come in..." Darius greeted her smoothly.

"Thank you" she said, flashing her capped teeth in return.

He escorted her into his large, sunken living room. It was elaborately and expensively decorated, with velvet couches and a large grand piano in one corner. The back wall contained french doors, leading to his large veranda and beautifully landscaped gardens.

"You do have an awesome place here..." she breathed.

"_Much nicer than Tommy's... that looks like a shack in comparison. What was I thinking... "_

"Thanks. I like it. You were here once before." Darius remarked.

"You noticed." she purred, crossing her legs demurely at the ankles.

"I notice everything, girl..."

"I'll just bet you do..."

"Would you like some wine. I have a very good merlot here you might like."

"Sure"

He poured some into an expensively plain crystal glass that matched his own. When she raised it to her lips, he spoke again.

"So? What brings you here at night?"

"I have a proposition I'd like to discuss with you..."

"I'm all yours, girl." Darius replied, intuiting from her body language the deliciousness of her scheme.

"Well... first, I thought you'd like to know... seems your little "virgin" Jude is having a hot affair... She's not so innocent after all..."

"Oh?" Darius's ears perked up.

"Yes... And guess who she's doing..."

"Spill, girl!" he demanded.

"Little Tommy Q. Boyz Attack's own. Your prize producer."

"He ain't no prize!" Darius spit out, his voice laced with contempt.

"Tell me about it!" Sadie replied, blending sarcasm with bitterness.

"Yeah... I guess you would know..." he replied. "Tell me more. Everything."

"Jude goes over there, three, four times a week. She stays there all night. You can guess the rest..."

"How'd you find this out?" Darius asked.

"I have my ways..." Sadie said seductively, strategically tossing her golden hair over her shoulder.

"_Yeah... I'll bet you do... And I"ll bet they're damm good!"_ Darius thought.

"Seriously..." she continued, knowing he needed more enticement. "I am her sister. I do have to live with her. So, I heard the phone calls. One night I followed her..."

Darius nodded, carefully processing this new information.

"Ok... So, why did you come to me?"

"Simple. I want this stopped. I figured you would, too. And together, we can make that happen. I thought we'd make a great team..." she stroked.

Darius subtlety looked her over, checking out every generous curve on her body.

"_Quincy gave that up? To nail Jude? Always knew the boy was a damm fool..."_

"Yeah. I gotta agree with you, Sadie." Darius responded.

"So? We bust em?" she asked cheerfully.

"You got it." he promised her.

"Cheers" she replied, giving him a sexy wink.

Their clinking glasses tinkled.


	5. Chapter 5

Strangelove

Ch 5

(Author's Note: Special note on this chapter. I'd like to dedicate it to Petra and "Scented Candles" (sorry I don't know your real name!). Thanks sooo much for picking me up when I needed it- you guys got me over my emotional hump with this story! And to everyone- sorry- I know it's been a wait... I'll try to update this one more often, too- I just didn't think that many people liked it anymore... Happy to be wrong (I was, right?)! Hope you all enjoy...)

Ch 5

Sadie's spite continued, as she continued to unobtrusively stalk her sister for the next few days. She monitored Jude's every move, waiting for the moment when she and Darius could effect their plan. Several nights later, the chance arrived.

As agreed, she signaled Darius, and he returned her message. Everything was ready.

In Tommy's remote house that night, he and Jude now lay naked, sweaty, but entangled on the wrinkled sheets of his queen-sized bed.

He ran his large hand through her disheveled hair as she panted in his arms; mirroring his own heavy, deep breathing. Suddenly, she shivered

"Jude?" he asked.

"Just cold..." she answered.

He drew the thick, heavy black comforter around her, but she trembled still.

"Jude? What's wrong? Baby, you're shaking..."

"I don't know..." she replied, trying to dispel the eerie feeling that now consumed her.

"I don't know what's wrong with me ..."

"Nothing was wrong with you a few minutes ago." Tommy quipped, unable to resist.

Jude smiled.

"Glad you noticed."

"Always, girl..."

"I guess... I'm just tired... Maybe I shouldn't have come tonight..."

"Dammit, girl!" Tommy scolded. "Of course you should have!"

"And of course, you're tired... I've been working you pretty hard... And not just here..." he insinuated.

She smiled again.

"You get some sleep, girl. Right here. Right now..." he ordered.

Obediently, Jude placed her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes, as his lean body curled protectively over her own.

Just after dawn the next morning, two cars parked carefully just down the road. Darius emerged first from a white, vintage Porsche. At the sight of him, Sadie opened the door of her far more modest Volvo.

Darius extended a thick hand to her as she approached.

Sadie smiled sexily as she took it.

"Hi there!" she greeted her co-conspirator, her soft ice blue eyes penetrating into his ebony ones.

"Hey" Darius responded cooly. "Ready?"

"Hell, yeah!"

"_I've been ready for this for some time now"_ Sadie thought meanly.

"No doubt in you girl, is there?"

"Confidence is sexy!" she retorted quickly.

"_Yes... you are..." _Darius thought _"But first we do this... then we'll see what else there is for us to do..."_

"Yes" he answered simply.

"Let's go do it..." she said.

"_Make anything you want of that..." _she thought of her suggestive comment.

Stealthily, they climbed the steps of Tommy's house. Sadie withdrew the keys from the pocket of her deep brown Italian leather jacket; foresight prevented her from returning them to Tommy after their breakup. Quietly, they entered the silent house.

"Don't hear em.'" Darius said softly.

"That is surprising." Sadie whispered knowingly.

"Guess she's not that good after all..." she smirked.

As noiselessly as possible, they approached the bedroom and thrust the door open.

Sadie gasped at what she saw. Tommy's nude form was draped possessively and protectively over Jude's. Her arms wrapped tightly around his back as if to keep him right there, in that place with her, forever.

Sadistic rage engulfed Sadie as the couple slept on, oblivious to her presence. Tommy never treated her with such obvious and potent affection.

"_He never loved me... Never cared..."_ she realized, flashing back to numerous scenes from their past.

"_It's always been about her..."_ she finally concluded, horrified and seeing everything clearly for the first time.

"Get up!" she barked vengefully at them.

Tommy jumped in shock, but still kept Jude carefully in his arms, as she clung to him in fright.

"Busted!" Sadie yelled, gleefully.

"OMG!" Jude shrieked, reaching for the blanket and tightening it around herself and her lover.

"Don't bother hiding anything... We've seen it all..." Darius remarked snidely from the doorway.

"That's for sure!" Sadie gloated.

"We're giving you exactly ten seconds to get decent. Then Jude, you will go home and stay there until I'm ready to deal with you... Sadie, you follow her and make sure she does exactly what we want..."

"Who says you get to come here and give us orders!" Tommy yelled angrily.

"My contracts, you fool! I am Jude's manager and the owner of her record label... As Liam would say, that's trump! I own her! She'll do whatever I want... Everything I want... And as for you..."

"You think you own me!" Tommy shot back proudly.

"Yeah, idiot, I do... You have a contract too! And screwing our underage artists sure wasn't part of that deal..."

Tommy swallowed carefully, desperately searching for a response; none came.

"Ten seconds... We'll be in the hall, listening... Don't even speak to each other! There's nothing for you two to say anymore! You two are finished..." Darius warned them as he and Sadie exited the room, closing the door behind them.

Springing up from the bed, Jude and Tommy threw their clothes on. Her face was ghostly white and her eyes huge in her terrified face.

"Everything is going to be okay." Tommy tried to silently reassure her. He failed; he was equally frightened.

"Darius is capable of anything..." Tommy knew from experience.

"Sadie is a psychotically jealous, nasty slut..." Jude realized.

He squeezed her hand quickly, immediately dropping it as the door opened.

"Let's go, Jude." Sadie demanded instantly, roughly yanking on her sister's arm to lead her away.

Tommy could only watch wordlessly as Jude was torn from him.

Darius shook his head, disgustedly.

"_Tom is still pathetic... Too damm easy to read! Even easier to play! What is this thing he had for Jude, anyway... Had to fuck a 17 year old girl... Like he couldn't get anything else..."_

He remained silent for several minutes, playing his mind games and positioning himself psychologically. Finally, after watching Tommy's eyes squirm uncontrollably, he spoke.

"Ok. Here's what's gonna happen now... No choices... No negotiation..."

(Author's Note: You like? Seriously, what is it with Darius and Sadie... it's just too easy to portray them as completely evil... although neither has been this nasty in the show, not yet, anyway... Seriously, let me know what you think...)


	6. Chapter 6

Strangelove

Chapter 6

(Author's Note: Thanks! You all are sure showing me the "love" for this one! Seriously, I really do appreciate the comments and ideas. Despite my promise to try to update more often- it's hard! I'm trying... but it's a tough story to write... That's where you all come in- with your support and suggestions. The trouble I'm having is that there are simply too many delicious possibilities... but hearing what you guys think really helps me choose! So, if you want to see more of this story, keep the help coming, please! Otherwise, it could take me weeks... and I don't think anyone wants that... I sure don't!)

Chapter 6

"Here's what you're going to do..." Darius repeated, pausing dramatically as he stared directly into Tommy's frozen blue eyes.

Tommy easily met his nemesis's stare and did not waver.

"_I'm not a kid anymore... Boyz Attack is long over! He shouldn't intimidate me! He won't..."_ he tried to convince himself.

A satisfied grin stretched across Darius's mouth.

"_Quincy's still weak... Still puts himself first... This is gonna be too easy..."_

The older man let his former protegee and current employee sweat for a few minutes. Finally, he deigned to answer Tommy.

"You're leaving Toronto. Today. Get your stuff together, or at least what you'll need now. I'll take care of whatever business you can't finish today."

"I'm doing what?" Tommy snapped.

"_He won't hurt us Jude... I won't let him..." _he thought, already feeling his resolve weakening.

"I want you out of here. Away from my business. Which includes Jude!" Darius commanded

"And I go where?"

"That really isn't my problem!" Darius laughed. "I personally don't give a damm what happens to you! I don't owe you squat! Not after you made it with Jude Harrison. But, as usual, I'll cover your stupid ass! You go to LA. I've arranged for you to have a house and even a job at one of the studios there. Of course, it's not as prestigious as what you had here. Less money. Less status. Less power. But considering everything that happened, you ain't exactly in a position to be choosy, are you, boy?"

"What makes you think I'm gonna do that? That you can just order me around!" Tommy spit back at him.

"Cause if you don't, me and Sadie will just tell everyone about your little affair. That includes the press, Jude's parents, the police... The world. You'll go to jail, boy. Forget about working in this business again. Not to mention that pretty guys like you don't do well in prison... a little too popular, if you know what I mean."

"You're disgusting!"

"Just telling the truth, boy! You gonna be cleaning someone else's house in jail..."

Frightened, Tommy quickly changed tactics.

"What about Jude? You'd do that to her? Expose her that way?" Tommy screamed desperately.

"Why the hell not?" Darius said calmly.

"There's no such thing as bad publicity. She'll get everyone's sympathy, poor girl, abused by her pedophile of a producer..."

"But it wasn't anything like that!" Tommy screamed again, desperate.

"So what? No one cares!" Darius intoned evilly. "People will buy it if Sadie and I say so. Why not? You do have a dirty reputation, boy. It's completely believable..."

Consternation filled Tommy, as he struggled for an escape.

"_I can't just leave her... There's gotta be... another way."_

Darius smiled again, as always completely able to read him.

"Like I said, there's no choice here, boy. Start packing. Oh- and one more thing. Naturally, you are not to ever write, talk or communicate with Jude ever again..."

"Why? Why are you doing all this?" Tommy burst out, helplessly, knowing Darius had outmaneuvered him.

"Why not! You're not good for her. You'll destroy her career!"

"_Can't have that! What kind of a manager would I be if I let that happen? She's a good little earner... Like I'd ever give up that kind of money..."_

"She's doing great!" Tommy retorted, trying to use the truth against Darius.

"Yeah... All cause of me... My stellar management... My record label... She's doing everything I say... Now, she really will... Cause if she doesn't, I'll just leak your dirty little secret..."

"You bastard!"

"Watch that language boy...You are so outta here. You screwed up your own career. I won't let you hurt hers... Cause that's messing with me! Get out!" Darius coldly commanded.

Defeated, Tommy took a bag from his closet and began filling it.

As instructed, Jude drove straight back to the Harrison residence; she had no choice. Sadie tailed her ass all the way; there was simply no way to escape or anywhere else to go if there had been.

Now a prisoner, she forlornly climbed her front steps. Sadie at her heels, her own sister, turned sadistic jailer.

"Schadenfreude" Jude thought bitterly, hurrying to her own room and closing the door.

Rummaging frantically through a dresser drawer, she found the enamel pillbox she hid there months ago, right after her birthday. Jude had buried it, knowing she wouldn't need it then, but not discarded it. She had known that its time would come again...

Now, she opened it and swallowed two white tablets. She sat quietly, waiting, letting the pills effect their magic, impart their strength to her broken self.

Only then did she rise and go to confront Sadie.

(Author's Note: In case people don't know this, the word "schadenfreude" means to take pleasure in someone else's pain... Also, in case anyone is wondering (and some of you have already asked!), there are more reasons why Darius and Sadie are so nasty... and they will be revealed in due time... So... keep reading...)


	7. Chapter 7

Strangelove

Chapter 7

(Author's Note: Sorry for the delay- I experienced technical difficulties... Hope you all enjoy this chapter as much as the others)

Chapter 7

The pills sedated Jude, enabling her to walk noiselessly down the carpeted stairway.

"_Like anyone ever hears me, anyway..." _she thought bitterly.

The loud, strident sounds of a popular morning talk show now emanated from the TV in the kitchen and would indeed prevent anyone from hearing her approach. Typically, Sadie sat there, fixating alternately on the screen and the bowl of cornflakes on the table. She did not even acknowledge Jude's presence, until her sister stood right in front of her.

Her blood-red, lipsticked mouth curved into a mean, very satisfied smile.

"Hi" she said brightly to Jude, holding out the cereal carton as if nothing were amiss.

"Want some?"

Ice crystalized in Jude's veins as she reached out, angrily swatting the box from her sister's expensively manicured fingers, the content's spilling onto the floor.

"Clumsy, aren't you Jude!" Sadie snickered. "Now clean all that up!"

"You bitch!" Jude exploded in frozen rage. "How could you?"

"How could I what?" Sadie asked, smirking again.

"You... found out. And told Darius... You ruined... everything!"

"So? I'm supposed to feel sorry about that? Sorry for you?" her sister replied, her face guileless, and her demeanor angelic.

"I don't... understand. " Jude stammered weakly.

"Of course you don't. You aren't smart enough. Just a stupid girl" Sadie sang, mockingly.

"But why did you do this? Why would you tell him!"

"Why not" Sadie replied, deliberately remaining evasive to further aggravate her sister.

"Care to elaborate!" Jude snapped, employing one of Tommy's pet phrases. Thinking of her now likely-banished lover strengthened her resolve to drag- or knock- the truth out of insipid Sadie.

"Tell me!" she demanded, forcefully twisting her sister's right arm.

Paradoxically, this action mollified, rather than enraged Sadie. Darius had already taught her a few things, namely that remaining in control of your emotions rendered you in control of any situation. Clearly, Jude had already lost.

"_Yeah, I can do this... I really am a great actress..."_ she thought cockily.

Secure in her victory, she finally deigned to respond to Jude's query.

"You really need to ask me that? You screwed around with my ex! My ex! The guy who broke my heart."

"But you broke up with him, remember?" her sister pointed out, reasonably.

"Mere technicality!" Sadie snorted. "Did he ever tell you exactly why I dumped him?"

"No"

"_We never discussed that... We never needed to... I knew exactly why... And he knew that I knew..."_

"Did you even once think about my feelings?" Sadie asked.

"Oh, please! You do enough of that for everyone! That's all you ever care about! Tommy was just "the poster on your wall" and you were the total fanatical fangirl! Yeah, you worshiped him! But you never bothered to know him at all... To see who he really was..."

"And you do? Right!" Sadie replied, miffed at her sister's superiority.

"Yeah, I do. You just weren't interested. You're never interested in anybody but yourself!" Jude answered nastily.

Sadie's mellow facade finally snapped, and she slapped Jude hard across the face.

"Ouch!" she cried out, automatically raising her fists to retaliate.

"Put those hands down. Unless you want more of the same. You know I can do it! And I will. I have before, remember..." Sadie threatened.

"Yeah" Jude surrendered, remembering their childhood.

_On a late August day, almost twelve years ago, two little girls, sisters, walked together to school. The older, more obviously pretty sibling had long blond ringlets and huge sky-blue eyes. Today, she had chosen to wear a short, pink denim skirt with a matching jacket and a pink top. Protectively, she held the hand of her younger sister, a skinny girl with long stringy, straight red hair._

"_Now, don't be afraid." seven year old Sadie advised five year old Jude as they entered the schoolyard._

"_If he bothers you again, I'm right here... I'll be watching..." she promised her._

_The bully did not take long to approach Jude, as he had every day since she started school, just a week ago._

_Sadie spotted this immediately and ran right over._

"_Dirk the jerk... I might have known! Picking on little girls now?"_

"_Well, well, if it isn't Malibu Barbie... complete with puke-pink dress!"_

"_You leave my sister alone!"_

"_Yeah, right! Who's gonna make me! You!" he laughed._

"_Yeah!" she said, easily knocking him to the ground._

_After beating him up, Sadie smoothed her hair back down and smiled proudly at Jude._

"_Always knew those karate lessons would pay off."_

"_Yeah, you did win all those ribbons." Jude said admiringly. "Thanks!"_

"_Anytime"_

"We fast forward to just a few years later... What happened?" Jude wondered.

Sadie knew the answer to the question she glimpsed in her sister's transparent blue eyes. She felt a rare moment of understanding for the sister she had slowly, even reluctantly, grown to despise.

"_Daddy! Daddy!" twelve year old Sadie Harrison screamed, as she burst into the house, dressed in her red ice skating dress, skates slung over her shoulder._

_No one responded. The sound of a guitar led her to the living room, where her father sat, engrossed in the music._

"_Daddy!"_

"_Shh!" Stuart Harrison admonished softly. "Not now, sweetie. Not during Jude's guitar lesson..."_

"_But I just wanted to show you..."_

"_Later..." Stuart said disinterestedly, immediately turning back to his younger daughter._

"_Incredible! You've only had a few lessons! Wow! Amazing!" he raved endlessly._

_Her body turned away from her sister, Jude hugged her guitar to herself and smiled._

_Sadie stalked out of the room, as tears began falling down her face._

"_I won't let anyone see me cry... Not that they'd care!"_

_Up in her room, she carefully added the ice skating trophy to the many already crowding the shelves in her room._

"_But they don't matter! They never will..." she realized for the first time._

"_Never me... no matter what I do, I will never truly be first..." Sadie reminded herself constantly, especially since that fateful day._

"_Our very first Instant Star is- Jude Harrison!"_

Quickly, Sadie re-established control; her face revealing none of her inner turmoil.

"_My turn now... I'm going to be an actress... I know just how to make that happen..."_

"Just stay out of my way!" she warned Jude.


	8. Chapter 8

Strangelove

Chapter 8

Darius Mills emerged from his bedroom in his hilltop mansion. Freshly showered and dressed casually, but expensively in his pink polo shirt and dark pants, he strolled nonchalantly downstairs to his impeccably elegant living room. Through it's glass doors leading to the gardens, he surveyed his kingdom. Twilight was settling in; it would be a dark, starless, moonless night.

Satisfied, he then sauntered over to his top-of-the line stereo system, inserting a carefully chosen CD, just as the doorbell rang.

"_Perfect timing... everything's ready."_

He heard the sound of her lilting soprano voice, as she exchanged obligatory polite greetings with his butler. Soon, her spiky heels emitted their clattering sound on his hard tile floor; the noise became louder as she came closer to him.

"Good evening" she greeted him, her voice oozing sensuality, as she flung her long blond hair over one bare shoulder.

"Sadie" he replied simply, even as his greedy eyes drank in her shapely form.

Clad in a skimpy green top and tight jeans, she was the antithesis of her sister. Unlike Jude, whose look was far more restrained, Sadie saw no point in subtlety.

"How are you tonight?" she asked, quickly and calculatingly flicking her tongue across her very glossy lips.

"Fine. And yourself?"

"Never better."

"What would you like to drink tonight?"

"What can you give me?"

"Anything you want." he replied.

"_Yeah... I know you will..." _Sadie thought arrogantly.

"_Too easy..." _Darius smirked silently, glimpsing deeply into her seemingly guiless eyes and instantly divining her intentions.

"Champagne, then?" he offered.

"Why not? We do have a lot to celebrate..."

Darius handed Sadie the flute filled with sparkling golden liquid. She extended a careful tanned hand and accepted it.

"Gotta hand it to you, girl. That plan really worked! Got your sister and T right where we want them..."

"Far apart from each other!" Sadie allowed herself to gloat.

"_They don't deserve to be together... Never did!"_

Darius grinned.

"Too much trouble, both of them. Your sister is a major pain in the ass! No appreciation! Every time I build something for her, she has to kick it down! If her records weren't so hot, I'd have dumped her a long time ago! Money! That's all she's good for! And hardly even that!"

"Yeah. I know exactly what you mean!" Sadie easily concurred, sipping her champagne, and glancing downwards at her new, very costly, designer outfit. Unknown to her sister, Sadie purchased it and many other items earlier that day using Jude's credit card.

" _And when the bill comes in... she won't say a word. She can't... Not now..."_

"_It's not like she can't afford this!" _Sadie rationalized, easily dismissing the small pang of guilt.

Darius carefully watched the hot blonde on the couch, observing her emotions as they played themselves out, under her masking smile.

"_Girl wants what her sister has... everything! I can give her that... Provided she's willing to work for it... Let's see how far she'll go..."_

"Ready for dinner?" he asked calmly.

"Lead the way."

After a succulent gourmet meal, consisting of Oysters Rockefeller, Ceasar Salad, Beef Wellington and a dessert of Creme Brulee, accompanied by his finest wines, Darius returned Sadie to the living room. After pouring her a brandy, he smiled seductively.

"So? How did you like everything?"

Sadie's dazed eyes struggled to focus on him. She felt lightheaded and just a trifle unsteady.

"_Too easy..."_ Darius thought again.

"_Amazing... Classy... Elegant... Everything Tommy isn't and could never be... His idea of gourmet is heating up a frozen lasagne..." _Sadie thought dizzily.

"It was really good." she answered him, as if she was not only accustomed to, but expected, such richness.

"_I do deserve it. And I will have it..."_

Her blase stance did not deceive Darius.

"You barely ate a thing." he said.

"Well... I am an actress... I have to watch it... Have to stay in shape."

"_Yes, you do... Otherwise, you won't be of any use to me..." _Darius thought

"So, you land any big parts yet?" he asked, with mock interest.

"No. Just local theater. Small time stuff." she confessed in a soft purr, crossing her left leg over her right.

"Maybe... You could help me..." she continued.

"_Damm right I can!"_

"What exactly did you have in mind, girl?" he asked calmly, moving closer to her and dropping a lackadaisical arm around her shoulders.

"Well... I'm not sure... What's a good place for me to start..."

"Hmm..." Darius paused dramatically, to enhance her anxiety.

"I do own some magazines... One of them "Solid- Sports Edition!" is about to produce it's annual swimsuit issue..." he baited.

Sadie looked meaningfully into his eyes, as he continued.

"You might be good for that... Of course, we'll need to test you out. See what your body's like..."

"I've never had any complaints there!" Sadie boasted.

"_I bet you haven't"_ Darius said, eyeing her appraisively and acquisitively.

"So, you have no problems with this?" he asked.

"No" Sadie barely replied, as his mouth crushed hers brutally, his tongue slipping inside to plunder ravenously. His kiss was savage, primal and by far the most exciting she had ever experienced.

"_This is gonna be better than I imagined..." _

His hands suddenly grabbed her body, staking his claim. He sharply pinched her nipple through the thin silk of her top.

Abruptly, he pulled away from her. Sadie squirmed restlessly. In contrast, Darius appeared completely relaxed and unaffected by their torrid embrace just moments ago.

"More" he finally said, posing it as a challenge, not a question.

"Yeah..."

"Show me what you got, girl..."

"Here?" she replied.

Her so apparent confusion made Darius want to laugh, but he restrained himself.

His grip on her arm was tight and relentless as he led her to his bedroom suite. In a gentlemanly fashion, he stepped aside, allowing her to enter first.

Sadie smiled happily, surveying the palatial, sensuous space.

"_Perfect for a hip-hop king"_ she thought.

She looked around, admiring the thick padded silk black and gold fabric that adorned his walls. All his furniture and bedding mirrored that regal color scheme.

Suddenly, Sadie felt his iron grip shoving her firmly down on the bed. The plush comforter billowed around her as his weight embedded her body deeply into the mattress. His hold on her tightened as he again crushed her mouth against his, somehow alsocontriving to tear the clothes off her body; she found herself ripping at his own.His lips, tongue and teeth assumed their possession with bruising force, and without any pretense of affection or tenderness. Ravenously, they moved downwards, feasting on her tanned skin in the same manner. Quickly, he slid down her neck to suckle her breasts. Gently, he tugged on and then bit one nipple; echoing these movements with the other.

Sadie cried out. His actions made every muscle and bone in her body throb with merciless need.

"Oh... yes..." she moaned.

"More?" he replied, tauntingly.

"Yes... Please... Oh, yes..."

Her begging intensified his greed; uncontrollable arousal ransacked his own body.

Roughly, he grabbed her hands, immobilizing them over her head. Seconds later, he was inside her, riding her hard and fast. She whimpered, which only caused him to intensify his movements.

"Fucking yes!" he cried out, victoriously.

Sadie's body suddenly jerked, convulsed and then exploded in a blistering climax.

However, Darius did not surrender his own control so quickly. He continued to move within her until she shuddered again.

"_Now... I got you right where I want you... You'll do anything I say..."_

Only then, with his dominance clearly established, did he permit his own release. Submissively, this spurred Sadie to climax a third time.

He collapsed on the bed besides her; their bodies next to each other, but no longer touching.

Smugly, he turned to look at his prey, as Sadie glanced questioningly at him.

"Not bad, girl." he grinned, giving her the approval he knew she needed.

"Not bad, yourself..." Sadie replied, weary and panting.

"_Now what..."_ she wondered, never having been in a situation quite like this before.

"So..." Darius said, pausing dramatically and causing Sadie's pulse to accelerate.

"Let's talk about that modeling job..."


	9. Chapter 9

Strangelove

Chapter 9

The bright lights twinkled restlessly above Jude, as she twirled in time to the amorphous, thumping music the club featured. Dancing had a strange, hypnotic effect on her, rendering her mindless and thus oblivious to emotion. However, that was always a temporary condition, necessitating other remedies.

Stumbling through the large crowd, she navigated towards the bar. With just one glance and a hand signal to the familiar bartender, she quickly obtained exactly what she wanted.

Reclining slightly against the shinny chrome counter, she took small, lady-like, but frequent sips from the plastic cup. When she wasn't dancing, she always drank. Rationalizing her actions, she would tell herself it was her only respite from the monotonous music; one song undistinguishable from it's predecessor.

It wasn't her scene or her style. But lately, Jude sought refuge in large, impersonal settings; it was easier to lose yourself there. On the nights she wasn't at the studio, or doing one of Darius's endless publicity set-ups, she had nowhere else to go. Her mother had eloped with one of her interchangeable, seemingly random, boyfriends. All Jude knew was that she was in Europe now; her exact whereabouts and the date of her return unspecified.

Sadie's presence had also become erratic since Darius enabled the launch of her modeling career. She spent considerable time either working or networking.

"Or screwing D! And probably other guys who will get her jobs!" Jude thought, knowing well the realities of the entertainment world.

In truth, her sister's new lifestyle suited her just fine. It kept Sadie from the house and Jude never wanted to see her there.

The remotest chance of that sufficed to keep Jude away from home.

"Two more months... The second I turn 18... I'm so outta there!" she vowed constantly, usually with liquor engorging and warming her stomach; its heat solidifying her resolve.

"And then I'm going to find Tommy... No one can stop me..."

Passionate though her intentions were, she had no clue exactly how to accomplish this. Except for Darius, it appeared no one knew where he had gone. Even Kwest, now her producer, could only offer a sympathetic glance when she asked him that. It was obvious from the sad look in his eye that he genuinely had no knowledge of his friend's whereabouts.

As usual, her thoughts were interrupted by a tap on her shoulder. Automatically, Jude smiled. Minutes later, she was back on the dance floor.

For endless hours, Jude cycled between dancing, drinking and occasional empty chatter. She was never alone long; there were always plenty of men populating these nights. She remained aloof, never dancing with any of them for more than three songs. She then returned to the bar to wait until the next approached her. She would not go home with any of them.

That honor was reserved for Jack, who she developed some familiarity with. They never talked intimately, but both knew they were kindred spirits, with similarly empty lives. At the end of the night, they instinctively gravitated towards each other. Loneliness and desperation then brought her to his apartment. Sometimes, they had sex. More often, they were too wasted to bother and simply passed out there.

But Jude didn't mind sleeping with him. When she screwed her eyes shut, she felt, tasted and even smelled Tommy in the darkness. She also knew that it was the same for Jack; his mind consumed by someone else, even as his body joined and moved with hers.

Already, she hoped for that tonight. It was clear the alcohol and pills would be inefficient this time. She would need to obtain oblivion and release through other channels.

She caught his eye and he began moving towards her.


	10. Chapter 10

Strangelove

Chapter 10

"_I can't stand to watch your"_

"_Comet coming fast..."_

"_Everywhere you go, it seems..."_

"_Lightening strikes and then you crash."_

"_I don't know how you do it..."_

"_It always ends the same."_

"_Everywhere you go, it seems..."_

"_Lightening strikes and there's no rain."_

"_No rain..."_

"_No rain..."_

Numbly, Tommy shut off his stereo and stumbled blindly onto his small patio. The dying rays of the golden, setting California sun shot their sparks onto him. He felt neither their warmth nor their beauty. To him, even the strongest sunlight was ironic. Potentially combustible, except nothing remained inside him to ignite. He had surrendered all that, weeks ago in Toronto.

"_Jude..."_

He had turned off his radio; it hadn't mattered. It never did. Her music could not be so easily muted. It played constantly in his mind, an appropriate soundtrack to an otherwise barren existence.

Here in LA, people remembered him. They recognized his name, his face and recalled his celebrity, the years of infamy. These same persons were now stunned now by his asceticism and monastic behavior. The once irrepressible party boy never dated, never socialized at all. He left his small oceanfront bungalow only to perform necessary errands or to work.

His new job at the fledgling, small and unknown record company constituted a real change, comprised as it was of gopher work and engineering. He was constantly at the beck and call of less renowned, less experienced persons. Vapidly, he indulged all their whims. It did not upset him; he did not feel degraded, having already demeaned himself. Producing or creating great music no longer mattered.

Once a connoisseur of all forms of beauty, of passion, he now could not comprehend or even recognize it.

He stood every evening on the edge of this sand, watching the tides roll in and out. Each wave disappeared into an unknown future, leaving nothing behind. It was as if they never existed at all. Countless nights passed in this bleak, unrelenting fashion.

And this one constituted the darkest of them all. He checked his watch with increasing frequency as the midnight hour approached.

"_12:00... Happy 18th, girl..."_


	11. Chapter 11

Strangelove

Chapter 11

As Tommy sought and found his oblivion in the crashing waves of LA, Jude restlessly awaited her own deliverance, watching the clock in Toronto.

When it finally struck midnight, her lips curved into a malicious, happy smile.

"Happy fucking birthday!" she toasted herself, mentally replaying the events of exactly one year ago.

"_You want to feel it!" Tommy screamed at_ _her. "What I can do to you! What you do to me! Ok! But just remember, you asked for it!_

"Damn right!" she muttered to herself now.

Of course, Darius had planned another birthday party for her. It was to be the bash of the year, befitting an 18-year-old superstar. Elaborate and very expensive, emotionless and completely devoid of meaning, he expected her there.

This time, she had made other plans for herself.

More of Tommy's words played in her head.

"_No more secrets, girl! No more games..."_

"Darius can fuck off!" she thought, gleefully damning him in effigy.

"Everyone can! Sadie! My parents!"

Rising, she reached under her bed, dragging out the large, already-packed duffel bag. Jude carried it downstairs. There was no need for secrecy or stealth.

As always, no one else was there.

She tossed the bag into the backseat and installed herself in the front.

"_Tell me you don't want it... Don't say we can't..."_

"Don't say we can't!" she said again on this night.

"No one can! No one will! Not ever again..."

Heedless of the late hour, she blasted the radio and sped off.

Drugged by her newfound liberation, Jude drove tirelessly, stopping only briefly and very infrequently until she reached California. There, she carefully sought out the address her club friend and sometime lover, Jack had obtained for her.

It was again late at night when Jude managed to locate Tommy's beach house; the appropriateness of this pleased her. It just seemed right; their assignations always occurred under the cover of darkness.

However, fear seized her as she climbed his steps. She rang his bell, then pounded ruthlessly on his door.

"Fuck it!" she screamed out, frustrated.

Coming here, she hadn't known what to expect. Certainly, it had occurred to her that Tommy might not be home. But she struggled to calm herself, as her head filled with images of where- or with whom- he might be.

"Like you're one to talk!" she criticized herself, disgusted by her own hypocrisy.

She poised herself to wait, and walked around the outside of the house. The raging ocean seduced, luring her to the beach.

That was where she found him. He stood, immobile, lean physique silhouetted by just a sliver of emerging moonlight, lost still in the pounding surf.

Jude opened her mouth to call his name, but no sound emerged. Instead, she just came closer and closer.

Only when her body stood mere inches from his did Tommy turn and finally see her.

"Jude..." he whispered, dazed.

The power of his touch far belied the weakness of his voice. Forcefully, his hands seized her hips and tossed her roughly onto the wet sand. He jumped on top of her, the weight of his body all but immobilizing her own. His starved lips brutally crushed against hers.

Jude relished his roughness. Her own writhing body, deprived for so long, demanded it; his intense need equaled her own and would not be denied.

Unable to delay their physical reunion for another second, their bodies parted frantically, just enough for them to inch off their clothes. Naked, Jude's hands locked around Tommy's head, her tongue plundering his mouth. He returned her fiery kisses, as his unoccupied hands seized her breasts, fondling them, even as he lowered himself into her.

His initial penetration was deep and hard, all-consuming and perfect.

"Tommy!" she screamed.

"Jude!" he cried ecstatically.

He plunged into her eager body again and again. She met each demanding thrust, her muscles clenching and retracting around him, forcing him even deeper inside her and holding him there as tightly as possible. She grabbed at him, burying her head against his neck and biting his shoulder.

Quickly, they brought each other over the edge.

Jude lay panting between his legs. He remained nestled within her as aftershocks coursed through her. These had not finished when he hardened again and resumed his fierce, determined motions deep inside her.

They spent hours on that beach, pleasuring each other and enjoying a passion they thought they had lost forever. Just as the sun's rays began to peek through the black sky, Jude shuddered with one last orgasm and collapsed limply against Tommy's body.

Tenderly, he wrapped his arms around her and carried her into their house.


	12. Chapter 12

Strangelove

Chapter 12

In the dusky light of the room, Darius's bronzed muscles gleamed as he rose from the bed. Naked, he strode the several paces to the fully stocked bar on the left. He filled a crystal goblet with his favorite bourbon, not wincing as the potent liquid coursed down his throat, and seeped into his veins.

Disinterested, he glanced back at his bed. A golden-haired, vacant woman lay there, exhausted and beaten.

She had done absolutely nothing to dispel his violent rage.

"Wrong bitch! Wrong day!" Darius cursed.

Sadie was a completely unsatisfactory substitute for her sister. But for tonight, she would have to do. Tonight, she was all he could have.

For tonight...

But tonight would not last forever...


End file.
